Friday, 24 December 2004

The Incredibles (2004) - ickleReview (cinema)

The new Pixar movie about a superhero family. Tom Paulin thinks this is a critique of America as the world's only superpower. It's also a fun movie. Mr Incredible has to give up his identity as a superhero when he gets sued for saving someone's life, hurting the saved one's neck in the process. He has to settle down in suburbia, working a cruel cubicle office job as an insurance man. On the side, he still snoops off regularly with his old buddy Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson - whose superpower is, of course, ice: because he's so damn cool) to listen to the police radio and do the occasional daring rescue. There's one scene that is particularly reminiscent of 9/11 when he and Frozone save a bunch of people trapped in a tall burning buidling just in time before it collapses. (I always thought it was dumb how firemen and policemen were suddenly called "heroes" after 9/11 when all they were doing was their daily jobs and thought nothing of it. Why should these people be called superheroes when they have so much fun doing it? Shouldn't everyone else be called a superhero for slogging away in their boring lives? If everyone's special, no one's special.)

Of course, things can't carry on like this: Mr Incredible is headhunted to join a secret mission to save everyone from a big robot, which is of course a trap set by someone who has a grudge against him. His wife and kids - who also have superpowers - also get involved. There are plenty of laughs and neat Pixar moments, such as the little kid who waits at the end of the Incredibles' drive, waiting for something cool to happen; or the wee fashion lady who designs their new superhero uniforms; or the subplot in which the daughter comes of age, emerging out of the insecurity of puberty.

Oh, and there's no point sitting through the long credits: there's no treat at the end this time.